Verlander for Cy Young?
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by user Cochise
As the season's end draws closer and closer, talk begins over which players deserve baseball's top awards at the end of the season. While the big batter's award, MVP, will almost assuredly go to a Yankee or Red Sox player, the coveted pitching award, Cy Young, has a shot of being in the trophy case for a certain Tiger's pitcher.
That is why from now on, this blog will devote one post a week to tracking the Cy Young candidates from the AL and where rookie stud Justin Verlander stands in the race. As of now, here are the top five candidates
Jonathan Papelbon - It is rare for a closer to win the Cy Young, much less a rookie closer, but it seems that most baseball experts consider Papelbon the frontrunner for the award right now. His 0.64 ERA is the best amount pitchers who have thrown for more than 15 innings in the season and his impact on the Red Sox has been unquestionable. 30 saves and only two blown opportunities resulting in a loss has given Boston the consistancy in their bullpen they have needed.
But look beyond his stellar ERA and saves marks and Papelbon is only a closer, meaning he pitches one, or at most two, innings every couple of games. He has pitched less than half the innings of most starting pitchers in contention.
Bottom line is that, IMO, closers usually do not deserve the Cy Young cause quite simply they do not do as much work as starting pitchers do. For a closer to win, he must be on a historical tear (i.e. Eric Gagne) and be matched up against weak pitching in the league as a whole (again Gagne). Papelbon is not, however, on a record save streak and the AL does have many good pitchers. Once the voting begins, the public should realize this as well.
And if you were starting a team, would you rather have Papelbon or Verlander, Liriano, and Weaver? The worth of starting pitching is much greater than relief.
Justin Verlander - This is the guy that I, and hopefully everyone reading this, am rooting for. Justin Verlander has been the best pitcher on one of the best rotations in baseball all season long, and has been doing it at as young of an age as Papelbon. His 14 wins are tied for the league lead and his ERA is 2nd among AL starting pitchers. Justin also has a very good pickoff move, tallying 8 so far this season.
It is also hard to overlook the fact the Tigers have the best record in baseball with Verlander being, arguably, their best player. Usually the team's record does factor into a decision on whether or not a player deserves an award, and like Papelbon Verlander's impact has been clear.
For Verlander to have a chance at winning, however, he must continue to pitch lights out. He needs at least 4-5 more wins, as well as keeping his ERA down, to have a good shot.
Johan Santana - Not much to say here, any season Santana is healthy he is a good choice for Cy Young. Santana has 13 wins, his ERA is among the top 5 in the league and he leads all pitchers in strikeouts.
Johan has had a roller coaster of a season so far, and his inconsistency may hurt his chances. Just look at his month-by-month ERA. After a 4.45 ERA in April, Santana pitched a 2.72 and 1.05 clip in May and June seemingly restoring his dominance. But July proved to be difficult for the one-time Cy Young winner, as he hit an above 4.00 ERA once again. In his one start in August, his ERA has jumped even further up, to a solid 6.00.
Because of this, it is safe to say that Santana does not have a lock on the award by any means. If he can pull his ERA in August and September to May and June numbers, and get the Twins into the postseason, he will bolster his chances greatly. Otherwise there is a good chance he will be on the outside looking in just like his team.
Roy Halladay - Halladay is another proven pitcher, like Santana, who is having a great year on a mediocre team. His Blue Jays have little chance to overtake the Yankees or Red Sox, not to mention wild card contenders from other divisions, but there is no arguing that he can get the job done on the mound. With 14 wins and an ERA just over 3, Halladay is a good choice all-around and may get the nod over rookies who haven't earned their stripes in the game yet.
Roy has not been very sharp after the All-Star break, however, as he has only won two starts out of his six tries. His ERA has also gone up to over 4 in these six games. If Halladay can somehow get to 20 wins and the other pitchers falter, he has good chances. Otherwise he may have to settle for just finishing in the top five.
Francisco Liriano - Liriano was another favorite to win the award but with his recent injury and placement on the DL, it is safe to say that he won't be a major contender by the end of the season. It is doubtful that he will be in the top 5 next week, so lets leave it at that without delving into his great numbers.
Other Candidates - Mike Mussina, Barry Zito and Curt Schilling.
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Date
Wed 08/09/06, 3:48 pm EST
